NYC Students Go Inside Broadway with Motown the Musical

On May 22, more than 2,000 NYC public school students went behind the scenes of Motown, The Musical on Broadway, courtesy of Inside Broadway's Creating the Magic program, which aims to introduce young children to live theater.

There’s a lot more than glitz and glamour when putting together a Broadway musical. It’s hard work—something a few thousand NYC public school students found out first-hand when Inside Broadway’s Creating the Magic program took them behind the scenes of Tony-nominated Motown, The Musical.

On May 22, more than 2,000 children piled into the historic Lunt Fontanne Theatre to learn just how much work goes into putting together a Broadway musical.

“The theater is more than just actors on a stage,” said Michael Presser, founder and executive director of Inside Broadway. Presser opened the program by giving the students a history of the ornate theater they were sitting in. Originally built in 1910, it has been host to various famous works, including the premiere of the 1959 classic-turned-major-motion-picture The Sound of Music.

Motown, The Musical follows the Lunt Fontanne Theatre tradition of excellence by chronicling the journey of how the father of Motown, Berry Gordy, changed America with a sound it still listens to today.

Many of the students cheered and sang along with the actors during the musical selections, including top Motown hits like “Stop in the Name of Love” made popular by the Supremes and “ABC” by the Jackson 5. During the number “Reach Out and Touch,” Dionne Figgins, who plays Diana Ross in the musical, taught the audience the chorus and invited several children to sing along with her onstage.